John Rekenthaler and Amy Arnott: What’s a Safe Retirement Spending Rate Today?

Hi, and welcome to The Long View. I’m Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning for Morningstar. Our guests on the podcast today are Amy Arnott and John Rekenthaler. Amy and John are two of the co-authors, along with me, of some recently released Morningstar research on retirement spending rates. The paper is called The State of Retirement Income, and it’s an update on some research that we published in 2021 and 2022. Amy and John are both long-tenured Morningstar researchers and part of Morningstar Research Services LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar. Amy is a portfolio strategist and John is director of research for that group. They’re both contributors to Morningstar.com as well.

Background

“The State of Retirement Income 2023,” by Amy Arnott, John Rekenthaler, and Christine Benz, Morningstar.com, November 2023.

“Christine Benz and John Rekenthaler: How Much Can You Safely Spend in Retirement?” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Dec. 21, 2021.

“Christine Benz and John Rekenthaler: Revisiting What Is a Safe Retirement Spending Rate After a Tough Year,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Dec. 20, 2022.

“The State of Retirement Income,” by Christine Benz, Jeff Ptak, and John Rekenthaler, Morningstar.com, 2022.

“What’s a Safe Withdrawal Rate Today?” by Christine Benz and John Rekenthaler, Morningstar.com, Dec. 13, 2022.

Base Case Conclusions

“Determining Withdrawal Rates Using Historical Data,” by William Bengen, Financial Planning Association Journal, 2004.

“Bill Bengen: Revisiting Safe Withdrawal Rates,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Dec. 14, 2021.

Dynamic Spending Strategies

“When It Comes to Retirement Spending, Flexibility Pays,” by Christine Benz, Morningstar.com, April 14, 2023.

“Want to Boost Your Retirement Income? ‘Guardrails’ Could Help,” by Christine Benz, Morningstar.com, May 5, 2023.

“Why Do People Spend the Way They Do in Retirement? Findings From EBRI’s Spending in Retirement Survey,” by Lori Lucas, ebri.org, Jan. 14, 2021.

TIPS Ladders, Inflation, and Portfolio Returns

“High TIPS Yields Are a Retiree’s Best Friend,” by John Rekenthaler, Morningstar.com, Oct. 16, 2023.

“What High Inflation Means for Your Portfolio,” by Amy Arnott, Morningstar.com, April 24, 2023.

“The Good News on Safe Withdrawal Rates,” by Amy Arnott, Morningstar.com, Nov. 13, 2023.

“Expenditure Patterns of Older Americans, 2001-2009,” by Sudipto Banerjee, EBRI Issue Brief, February 2012.

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